OPEN PLAN KITCHEN & JEFFREY OSBORNE

        FSVB's  200th POST
By around May/June of 1982, The Sandringham Hotel Opened, it was a Great place to Work!


The Kitchen area was all Open Plan, this was a First, I never knew of any other Restaurant like that in our Area, It was hard to get used to, being on show all the time, me being a Person who likes to stay in the Background, found this Quite hard to start with, but after a short while, I and others soon got used to it!


You were always being watched by Customers and things that you would normally just do, became harder, because of that, I remember the Hygiene Aspect had to improve, no leaving Meat / Food lying around, I remember the Kitchen Porter's moaning as they had to improve most things they did!


I remember the Trade was Slow to start with, but Sunday Lunches always being Busy, all them Customers looking at the Chef's cutting their Sunday Roasts right in front of them, what a Pleasure that was!


Nowadays its common place watching a Chef cut your Meat for you, but back then it was a Novelty, and it  Probably got the Hotel more trade , because of it!

Check out the Photo, this was taken around 1982, its Me, Susan, Nathan and Natalie, checkout the Settee and especially the Wallpaper, it was all the Rage back then, I can remember buying that Settee at a place called "Courts" in Town, we had that on the Never Never (as it was called years ago) we had to go in the Shop every month with our Little Book and pay the monthly rate!


I remember that Corner Unit Settee was in a Range that came with one better Model, than ours, and we tried our Best to get the Better one, but Courts would only let us have the Cheaper one, the Better one came with  (wait for it) a Clock Radio built in where the shelves were.......That Was a Beauty!     but it wasn't to be!


As for Music around this period, The Great Voice of "Jeffrey Osborne" Released his First  Album (of six) since leaving LTD, it was Self Titled and on the A&M Record Label, Side One had all the Great Tracks on it, including  New Love, Eenie Meenie, I Really Dont Need No Light and the Best Track of them all, On the Wings of Love.


On the wings of love          
New love                            
Eenie meenie                    
I really don't need no light  


He had some great Musicians on the Album including:

Album Personnel

• Larry Williams - tenor saxophone
• George Duke - keyboards
• Bobby Lyle - Fender Rhodes
• Bobby Martin - French horn
• David T. Walker - guitar
• Michael Sembello - guitar
• John Barnes - keyboards
• Paulinho Da Costa - percussion
• Lynn Davis - background vocals
• Charles Fearing - guitar
• Steve Ferrone - drums
• Gary Grant - trumpet
• Jerry Hey - trumpet
• Louis Johnson - bass
• Abraham Laboriel, Sr. - bass
• Arif Mardin - orchestration
• Lew McCreary - trombone
• Ernie Watts - tenor saxophone